We were in Labadee on Monday, Jan 18th. The island was beautiful and undamaged. The people seemed friendly and glad to see us. The Navigator brought supplies donated by Royal Caribbean. I spent more than usual and donated to the music groups, every little bit helps. I do have a question for those of you that have purchased wood bowls, platters, etc. We can home with quite a few for gifts. We did not think to ask how to care for them. Can't wait to return. May God be with the people of Haiti and those who are there to help them.

bizzybee... Welcome back.. I am a woodworker hobbiest and can answer your question. It really depends on how they were finished to begin with. Either they were oiled or they were waxed. if they were waxed they would be buffed to a shine. If they were oiled, they would not be shiny but would not look like raw wood either.

So if oiled, you can wash with water but don't let them submerge in the water for very long (dunk them in dish water and then wipe clean and rinse and dry) periodical re-apply oil to them. Use Castor oil (as it is edible) apply to the surface with paper towel liberally and let it soak in for a half hour or so and then wipe off any oil that did not soak in.

For waxed wood, buy some Johnson & Johnson paste wax (know as butchers wax and can be found in the cleaning isle at your grocery store or clear shoe polish. Use it like car polish... wipe it on in circles... let it dry and then polish it off. The waxed wood does not need to be re-polish nearly as often (depends on use)

I like the comments from the Harvard professor at the bottom of THIS article. While I frankly think professors from major colleges are often full of themselves, this one I can agree with. Distance from the disaster shouldn't matter.

Jim, thank you for the information. My husband thought he heard the man say something about oil, so that answers my question.

No,the locals were not begging for money. We did walk the boardwalk where the shops are. Some of the people were more aggressive than others, trying to get us into their stall and trying to slash prices to make sales, but always very polite. I did buy so quite a few items and paid the asking price. It did not seem right to negotiate prices. I bought a beautiful black and white painting on canvas, which I will frame and hang. The stop was very enjoyable and I hope the supplies the ship delivered and the money passengers spent help make a difference in someone's life.

During the cruise, did the ship solicit or accept donations of money from the passengers to help Haiti? If so, could the passengers charge it to their Sea Pass card?

I don't know if there was one, but on Labadee, was there a place (pavillion, store, kiosk, etc.) where a passenger could drop off a donation? I thought it would be a good idea for an organization, like the Red Cross, to have such a place set-up on Labadee where they could recieve donations from the cruise passengers.

I don't recall the ship mentioning accepting donations from passengers and I did not see any donation area. But I'm not saying there was not one, just didn't see one. However that is a great idea. We did drop money in a box for several musicians, and would have donated to a box if there was one in a controlled area.